Lottery games may be administered by a central authority in accordance with local rules and regulations set by the central authority. The entity responsible for administering the lottery games, referred to as the lottery administration herein, may provide a number of games to the public. As an example, the lottery administration may provide sports related games that allow a player to wager on one or more sporting events, or may provide draw based lottery tickets that allow a player to purchase a ticket for a subsequently held draw or instant win type tickets that allow a player to purchase a ticket that includes the winning information, often referred to as scratch-off tickets. These types of games are only illustrative, and it should be appreciated that different types of games may also be offered. For example, a hybrid game may be offered that provides a combination of instant win tickets and draw-based tickets.
Regardless of the type of game a player decides to play, a ticket is commonly provided. The ticket may have a unique number, or unique combination of non-unique numbers, that associates the particular ticket information, such as the number of wagers or draws purchased, the predicted outcomes as well as any other additional information the lottery administering entity desires. In order to validate that a purchased ticket is a winner, the ticket may be scanned and the ticket information associated with the ticket retrieved and used to determine if the ticket is in fact a winner. Depending upon the size of the prize, a player may receive the prize directly from the retailer, or may be required to visit the administration entity in order to claim their prize.
The lottery administration typically maintains a retail network of terminals that can be used to purchase tickets as well as validate tickets. The retail terminals are commonly found at convenience stores, grocery stores and pharmacies, although they may be found in various locations. Each transaction at the retail locations, whether it is purchasing tickets or validating tickets, may be stored in a database or other data store. The data store may be used to search for ticket information, such as when or where a particular ticket was purchased. In order to ensure that retailers abide by the rules and regulations of the lottery organization, retailers may be periodically audited in order to determine their compliance with the rules and regulations.
Additionally, the lottery administration may provide rules or regulations on retailers of the lottery. For example, a lottery administration may have a rule preventing retailers from selling a particular player more than $100.00 in wagers at a time. However, these rules or regulations may be difficult to enforce.
It is desirable to have a lottery system that provides an improved, alternative or additional way to identify transactions, such as the purchase of tickets, that may break a rule or regulation.